We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

Li Che stood on the city wall and looked down.

The square below was bustling with people.

"My friend, please move your legs. This thing is big. Don't bump into it."

"Load the glassware onto the rearmost carriage. That carriage has a more stable chassis. Be careful!"

"Fellow villagers who want to sell goods, please go to the flag at the end of the team to register. There are official documents for receiving the goods."

"Prioritize wild vegetables, nuts, furs, and other mountain products unique to the outside of the Great Wall!"

"Hey, sir, why are you here again? I know you have many daughters, but the country has a clear law prohibiting human trafficking. If you do this again, I will notify the law enforcement team."

Countless petty officials were walking through the crowd, and the caravan about to depart was doing the final finishing work.

In addition to the goods sold in the palace, Li Che also asked people to collect some mountain products from the people to enrich the product categories.

People can also take this opportunity to make some money and save it for emergencies.

However, Li Che's face was a little dark at this moment.

"What's going on with that old man?" Li Che asked Zhuge Zhe who was standing beside him. "Did I make it impossible for them to survive? Why did he even sell his daughter?"

Zhuge Zhe was in charge of internal affairs and knew the situation of the people in Chaoyang City best.

He quickly stepped out of the group and said somewhat awkwardly, "I do know something about this matter. The old man is sixty-five years old this year and has six daughters. He had another daughter last month."

"Perhaps he wanted to continue the family line. The father-in-law was desperate for a son, but he just couldn't have one. The family only had daughters, so there was a shortage of labor, and life was getting harder and harder."

Wang Sanchun, standing by, sighed softly, "Wow, she's still able to have a child at over 60. She's a role model for our generation!"

Li Che rolled his eyes at the fool and shook his head.

It's really rare and surprising. What's so strange about giving birth in your sixties?

In later generations, there are many news reports about wealthy people in their eighties having children in their old age. After all, wealthy people have medical resources far superior to ordinary people.

Of course, they will definitely not admit it. If you ask, they will just say that people have different physiques.

However, as men age, the quality of their sperm declines sharply, and the probability of their children being born with disabilities or stupidity is extremely high.

Even if this old man could get what he wanted, he would probably give birth to a stupid son, and his life would only get worse.

"Go, call that old man up, I want to talk to him." Li Che looked at Qiu Bai.

Qiu Bai bowed and accepted the order, then went down the city wall.

Soon, everyone saw Qiu Bai coming back with a wrinkled old man.

The old man avoided looking directly at Li Che and the others. He stepped forward and bowed his head, saying, "Your Highness, may your Highness live a thousand years!"

After Li Che's education of the people during this period, the people of Feng State have already known that it is taboo to shout "Long live the prince" to their own prince, so they changed it to "Long live the prince".

"Get up. I've said long ago that kneeling and bowing are not accepted in Feng State." Li Che said unhappily.

The old man smiled apologetically and stood up tremblingly.

"I heard everything you said. You want to sell your daughter?" Li Che asked sternly, "Why do you do that? Don't you know that human trafficking is illegal?!"

The old man just stood up, but was frightened by Li Che's stern tone, and immediately fell to his knees with a thud.

"I...I just can't survive any longer. There are eight people in my family, and I'm the only one who can work. I can't even make ends meet."

"Get up!" Li Che was furious when he saw his knees were weak. "Qiu Bai, hold him up! Don't let him kneel again!"

Qiu Bai took the order and immediately called over a personal guard to hold the old man on both sides.

Although he was angry at the old man for not fighting back, Li Che still cared about what the old man said.

He looked around, frowned, and asked, "What's going on? Are there still people in Chaoyang City who are not getting enough to eat?"

Chaoyang City provides subsidies. Families with an urgent need for labor, such as the elderly, the severely disabled, and the elderly, can receive relief food based on the number of people in their homes.

These relief grains were basically old grains brought by Li Che from outside the Great Wall. They were definitely not tasty, but at least they could keep people alive.

Zhuge Zhe looked at the old man and felt both angry and amused.

Zhuge Zhe personally arranged for relief food to be delivered to the people in the city who were having the hardest time, and strictly prohibited any acts of embezzlement or hoarding.

This old man complained as soon as he saw Your Highness, and ended up putting the blame on himself. There's no need to save face for him anymore.

He immediately replied, "Your Highness, I personally distributed this person's relief food, and it was exactly the right amount, not a single pound or ounce."

"As for why their family still struggles to make ends meet...it's because this person has a little hobby: he enjoys betting on poker games with others."

Upon hearing this, Li Che frowned even tighter, and stared coldly at the old man: "Are you still gambling?"

The so-called Guanpu in ancient times was actually gambling.

The Southern Song Dynasty folklore collection "Dream of the Southern Song Dynasty" records the following: "Neighbors went door to door singing and dancing, offering food, animals, hairpieces, combs, collar brushes, satin, flowers, toys, and other gifts."

In fact, it is a kind of gambling game similar to a promotion with prizes, and not only the rich gamble, but ordinary people also gamble.

God knows that gambling is one of the three evils along with drugs, which shows how harmful it is to the common people.

The old man saw his true colors exposed and immediately smiled awkwardly, wrinkles on his face gathered together: "I'm just a commoner, I just like to play a few hands in my free time, it's nothing, it's nothing."

"How many hands?" Zhuge Zhe sneered. "You've used your daughter as a gamble more than once. The other party didn't dare to take such a big bet and reported it to the law enforcement team, but you threw a tantrum and ended up letting it go."

"Is this still called playing a few hands?"

The old man was suddenly speechless, just smiled apologetically and stopped talking.

Li Che looked at him deeply, turned his head away, and was completely disappointed in him.

This is a scumbag, a troublemaker, and a piece of mud that can't be helped.

There are bad people among the masses too.

"There is already a threat of an attack in the city, why don't you report it?" Li Che asked Zhuge Zhe.

"This...during the farming off-season, when the common people have little entertainment, a few rounds of gambling wouldn't be a big deal, right?" Zhuge Zhe asked curiously, "Your Highness seems to be quite disgusted with gambling?"

Li Che shook his head: "It's not that we don't allow them to play, but we can't encourage this kind of unearned gain culture."

"If you lose gambling, it's fine. But if you win a few times by chance, won't you just get deeper and deeper into trouble? By the time everyone sees that gambling can make money, who would still farm the land or work in a factory?"

"The business of Guanpu is full of harm and no benefit."

After hearing Li Che's words, Zhuge Zhe fell into thought, then nodded in agreement:

"Your Highness is quite right. I heard that during the peak of the previous dynasty, the people of the capital had surplus food every year, so they stopped working hard on farming and became obsessed with cockfighting."

"After a few years, a large amount of farmland was abandoned, and wealthy families took advantage of this opportunity to swallow up the land, and the number of self-cultivating farmers decreased."

"The imperial capital couldn't even be self-sufficient in food and had to purchase it from surrounding counties. This problem was only resolved after the imperial court issued a ban on grain production."

Li Che made up his mind: "This matter should be banned!"

Fengguo does not have its own laws at present, and all lawsuits are still handled according to the Daqing Law.

Because Li Che knew that the law was the embodiment of the state's will, and he would avoid making trouble if he could, otherwise it would easily lead to disaster.

It is just like the Taoist "rule by inaction", which does not mean doing nothing, but rather trying not to make trouble and disturb the people as much as possible.

However, with the rapid development of Feng State, the lives of the people have become different from those of the people in the interior, and it is no longer appropriate to apply the "Daqing Law".

For example, the gambling craze is caused by the fact that the people of Chaoyang City live too comfortably, which leads them to this evil practice.

If it is not prohibited, there will be more and more gamblers, and some families may even be ruined.

Hearing Li Che's decisive words, the old man looked bitter.

Your Highness is really meddling in other people's business. Why did you close the gate and ban it?

There are no brothels or restaurants in Chaoyang City, and now even gambling is banned. Where can people go to have fun?

Before the old man could think about it, Li Che's gaze swept back again, scaring the old man to stand at attention.

"Why don't you send your daughter to the factory?" Li Che asked coldly, "Didn't you see the notice recruiting female workers?"

"Working in a factory earns you a daily wage, yet you'd rather sell your daughters than let them work. Are you getting senile?"

The old man murmured, "There are only virgins in my family. How can I go out and show my face in public? If the neighbors see me, they will poke me in the back."

"Fuck you!" Li Che laughed angrily, swallowing back a curse word halfway through his mouth. "Aren't you afraid of being scolded for selling your daughter?!"

"Send your daughters to the factory. The women's department is staffed by female officials, and they don't come into contact with men while working, so there's no need to worry about reputation issues."

"Is that true?!" the old man said in surprise.

"My words are golden, would I lie to you?"

"Okay, okay, I'll get all the older girls at home to work when I get home."

Li Che saw what the old man was going to do at a glance, and warned him with a cold face: "Your daughter can handle the wages herself, you are not allowed to encroach on them. I will send someone to watch you!"

The old man looked unhappy, but he didn't dare to refute. He could only nod repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes."

"Also, from today onwards, anyone found gambling with money or other property will be arrested by the law enforcement team and brought before the authorities. Those with relatively low stakes will be punished with fifty strokes of the cane and half a month's detention; those with large stakes will be punished with a hundred strokes of the cane, a fine, and one month's detention!"

Everyone responded in unison: "Yes."

Li Che looked at Huo Duanxiao and said, "Zhengze, the laws of Fengguo need to be revised. Please pay attention to the officials who are proficient in the law and report the names to me."

"Ahem, I obey your command."

"Ziyuan." Li Che looked at Zhuge Zhe again, "We can't delay the female worker's matter any longer. Since her family won't let her go, we should go door to door and explain the consequences."

"Only by setting up some role models and letting everyone see the benefits of women working can we promote this approach."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Li Che finally looked at the old man and sternly rebuked him, "You are nearly seventy years old. You are not allowed to have any more children. Even if your body can handle it, how can your wife bear it?"

"Children born in old age are often disabled. If you give birth to a stupid child, won't your life get worse and worse?"

The old man's face fell, and he was a little indignant: "Although I am old, my wife is a second wife. She is only twenty-six this year. How can she not have children?"

"Mr. Duo? You're still eating young grass?" Li Che's eyes widened in disbelief.

Twenty-six?

Biyang's Wanyi, you are such a beast!